Hampton Roads sex-ed teacher works to spread facts

There are times when the discussions have been wonderful. But there are others when she feels as if she's been beating her head against a wall, when she's in tears and wondering what it will take to get her message across. Leigh Anne Woods has just completed her third year as the lead community health educator for Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Virginia, PPSEV.

In her job, she crisscrosses Hampton Roads to teach people of all ages the facts about sex, contraception and sexually transmitted infections.

Woods' territory is primarily the Peninsula but she hates to turn anyone down, so she travels from Newport News to Portsmouth to Virginia Beach — to colleges, schools, shelters, churches, community centers, and social services agencies.

She's committed to relaying medically accurate information that most people, she finds, aren't getting anywhere else. She's constantly confronted by misinformation and myths that have gained a new half-life on the Internet.

Woods' background

The plain-spoken Woods, 42, grew up a Southern Baptist in Roanoke. She took a circuitous path to her current job, working for 20 years as a restaurant manager, before returning to school through the Horizon program at Hollins University. She completed a degree in religious studies, and, inspired by an education professor, she went on to the Career Switchers program at Old Dominion University and gained certification to teach K through 12 social sciences.

Woods started by teaching night government classes at the Renaissance Academy in Virginia Beach before a friend tipped her off to her current position. "I want teens to be as passionate about issues they care about as I am," she says.

Woods sees her work in teaching accurate information about sex as helping with school attendance, SOL scores and graduation rates. "Everything we do is abstinence-based. It's a no-brainer if I can keep one student from an unplanned pregnancy so she can follow her dreams," she says. She impresses on students that then they can focus on their art, music, sports, and more. "This is their body. They should treat it like a temple. They only get one," she adds.

Teaching the facts

Among Woods' responsibilities are teaching four 90-minute sessions of the Family Life curriculum in Newport News Schools, the only local school system to offer comprehensive sex education, she says. The United Way funds Woods' position and this year's expanded grant allows for a second educator, Bethany Schofield. "The good thing is that they see a need for medically accurate information, and students are getting a consistent message across six high schools," says Woods.

Duke Conrad, supervisor of health and family life for the school system, says the arrangement has worked out perfectly, both from an economic and educational standpoint. Previously, unable to afford dedicated Family Life teachers in the high schools, students were getting an inconsistent message from a rotating cast of health teachers. "You have to have a clear, consistent message and it has to be repeated so students can make good, healthy decisions," he says. "As soon as you let your guard down, things happen."

Additionally, the previous curriculum did not address the needs of sexually active students. "We ignored them. It just wasn't working," says Conrad. "Now, we're providing information, giving students a better chance to be abstinent. But, if they're not, we're making sure they can be as safe as they can be. … Leigh Anne is very thorough. She's doing an outstanding job."

The "Reducing the Risk" curriculum that Woods uses is the same as the one the schools had wanted, but couldn't afford. The Centers for Disease Control considers it the best family life program available, according to Conrad, and it has the full endorsement of the school district's Family Life Advisory Council, made up of community representatives.

"I teach science, not my personal opinion," Woods says, citing instances of in-house teachers perpetuating misinformation, such as that HIV/AIDS can be cured by drinking bleach, or spread by a mosquito bite. Myths such as these have serious health consequences, says Erin Zabel, spokeswoman for PPSEV. "People think, 'why should I protect myself if it's so easy to transmit?'"

Enduring myths

More persistent still are the myths that circulate endlessly around the Internet, from fabricated diseases to faulty biological information. "There's so much teens have to deal with. Online, there are websites that teach you how to turn a Dixie cup into a condom. That's what they're up against. They don't look at the source," says Woods.

Music, too, can convey incorrect information, she says, citing a popular song that suggests doubling up on condoms for added protection. And, through social media, elementary school students are now exposed to the same myths as older students.

With the changing mores that Woods observes, such as "sexting" on mobile media, and the widespread, casual practice of oral sex among young teens, she feels not only for the students, but also for their parents trying to raise them. She consistently tries to get parents involved in teaching their children about sex. "The evidence shows that kids overwhelmingly want to talk to their parents. They need to set up the relationship early so when things get thorny, they can get the right information. You've got to have the conversation and have it often. Be honest," she says.

It's a constant frustration for her that parents make up information when they don't know the answer — or unwittingly pass along misinformation, such as advising their sons to keep condoms in the freezer — and yet they won't attend classes when she offers them. "We're trying to give parents the opportunity to share information with children. It's really frustrating when we get fewer than six people — and they're all moms," Woods says. "The biggest concern I have is that we never see the dads. They play an important part. I'd like to see more men getting involved as educators."

Reaching out

Woods doesn't draw the line on education anywhere. "We're sexual beings. It's going to happen," she says. She takes her information, complete with myth debunking, to area colleges, such as Christopher Newport and Hampton universities. She visits resident advisors in their dorms — men's and women's — to make sure they have the wherewithal to answer students' questions. She conducts breast health awareness sessions. She works with Lutheran Family Services and with foster care agencies; she teaches human sexuality classes at the community colleges; she works with the Portsmouth housing authority and with Access AIDS, and this summer she made a return visit to the Oceana youth summit for troubled teens.

Next on her list? Woods is working with Monique Williams, program director for two Hampton group homes for those with intellectual disabilities. They're working together to implement a pioneering program that aims not only to inform residents about their bodies and healthy relationships, but to protect them from potential abuse. "They can be very unaware of appropriate sexual behavior," says Williams. "It's definitely a population that needs help."

At the end of the day

Woods sometimes feel overwhelmed. "It can be very depressing," she says. But, she also feels good about her work. "I'm OK with what I do every day. I can lay my head down. I help people make smart choices. It's about empowerment too. This is their health. This is their bodies."

Need reliable information?

Woods recommends the following sites for medically accurate information about sex, contraception, and sexually transmitted infections: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov, click on "birth control"; Planned Parenthood, http://www.plannedparenthood.org, or American Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, http://www.arhp.org, and search "My Method"; http://bedsider.org; and Advocates for Youth, http://www.advocatesforyouth.org.